Charles waited until everyone in the house was asleep to call a car and found it waiting for him outside the pack gates. He was still in disguise and had Avery to thank for teaching him how to look less like himself. If only he could mask the pain he felt whenever he thought back to the words Myron had spoken.

I just need time to figure this out.

Well, now he had plenty of time to weigh the pros and cons of Inara versus Charles—the omega he’d always loved versus the classless man fate had stuck him with. Charles just wasn’t going to be around while he puzzled over it.

As soon as the car started up, he broke down and wrapped his arms around his stomach. He wasn’t showing and probably wouldn’t for some time, but he could already feel the energy inside him now that he was aware of its presence. It felt like a blend of his and Myron’s, and it made his heart ache all the more.

Of course Myron still loved her. Why would he even need to “take time” to figure it out if he wasn’t going to come to the conclusion that he loved her more than he could ever love Charles? She’d probably asked him to take her back, and for that, he couldn’t blame her. He did, however, envy her ability to be the thing that Myron wanted, even when she’d made it clear that she didn’t love him the way he loved her.

Maybe that was part of her appeal, in addition to being an omega. Myron was the only person Charles had ever loved, the only attachment he’d ever felt himself incapable of losing, and it had done nothing to secure his devotion. Charles didn’t know much about love, but he knew enough from the way he felt to know that when you loved someone, you didn’t need time away from them. You didn’t need to slow down and “think about things.”

Charles had spent his whole life thinking, and from the moment he’d met Myron, he’d known that the omega would be the death of the man he’d been. He had made his peace with it. He’d felt like their love was the start of something better, and this baby was the promise the future held if they let it grow. Now he knew that it would only be a burden that made Myron feel even more bound to him. Bound in a way that made Charles’ heart soar and made Myron feel like he was wearing chains.

Charles’ hands trembled as he took out his phone and tried to collect himself enough to call the one person he trusted, even if he didn’t like him very much. Andy answered and sounded surprised to hear from him. “Mr. Metcalf?”

“I’m sorry to call so late,” Charles said, clearing his throat. “I was hoping you could arrange a flight from the airport in Boulder.”

“A flight? To where?”

“That is going to be the difficult part. I need you to get in contact with Jaspar Amari’s people and ask him to grant me permission to stay in the region for a while.”

“What? Why would you want to stay in Alliance territory?”

Charles bit his lip, trying to decide if he trusted Andy with the truth about his baby. He came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. If it had been a matter of his own life, he would have gone back to London and kept working without a second thought, refusing to be intimidated by criminals. But while he was very much alone, it wasn’t just his life at stake anymore, and he wouldn’t let anyone harm his child. Alliance territory was fiercely guarded by the verum Alpha and his mate. However far the extent of the conspiracy against Futurus went and however much Jaspar Amari disliked him, his territory was the safest place Charles could possibly be and the last anyone would ever look.

“Just make the call, please.”

He hung up and closed his eyes for the rest of the drive. It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

When Charles’ flight landed at the Emerald Pack’s airport, he had managed to get a few hours of sleep on the long flight, but he was far from rested. The region was beautiful and lived up to its name with dark green forests and sparkling lakes that looked like gemstones from the air. The moment Charles stepped off the ramp, he was surrounded by Alpha Amari’s security forces, but that was to be expected.

A beta stepped out of the waiting limousine below the ramp and cast a strange glance at Charles, which he could only attribute to the fact that he hardly looked like himself in such casual clothing. Or maybe it was the dark circles under his eyes.

“Mr. Metcalf,” the beta said with a reverent nod. “Alpha Amari and his mate await you at the estate.”

“Thank you,” Charles said, slipping into the back of the limousine. The heat was going to take a bit of getting used to, as was the perpetual sunlight, but somehow, the extreme distance between him and Myron made it easier to cope with the distance between their hearts.

He wasn’t surprised that Jaspar had agreed to grant him sanctuary with the contingency that he stay within the Emerald Pack so the Alpha could keep an eye on him. He was not looking forward to meeting the man’s mate, Tyr. Omega or not, he was still Mitchell Teak’s son and there was no love lost between him and that family thanks to his predecessor’s actions.

Charles had only been awake for an hour, but he already felt like he was out of steam when the limo pulled up in front of a stone mansion surrounded by woods. Children were playing on a swing set on the sprawling lawn, attended by nannies who stopped to look at him curiously as he stepped out of the car.

He had traded up slightly from the sweatshirt Avery had given him, but the jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt didn’t fit him much better. Soon, they literally wouldn’t fit him. At least he wouldn’t have to keep disguising himself if Jaspar allowed him to stay. To the shifters of the Alliance region, he was many things, but a celebrity was not one of them.

Charles allowed the driver to lead him into the mansion and could immediately see the evidence of how the Amaris outranked him on every list of their society elite. The place was not wanting for luxury, but it felt like a home, somehow. More than the corporate towers Charles lived in ever had.

For a time, he’d thought that Southbend might one day feel like home, but now, he knew the truth. He and Myron were never destined to be anything more to each other than ghosts.

“Out here,” the beta said, opening the doors onto a large patio. There was a table set by the garden, where Jaspar and his mate were engaged in seemingly pleasant conversation. The omega was as beautiful as his reputation suggested, even if he had the build of a warrior. Jaspar gazed at him in adoration, stroking the pale flesh of his mate’s wrist with tenderness that Charles was beginning to think existed only for omegas.

The couple seemed to notice him at the same time, and while Tyr’s smile was guarded, he gave Charles a far more genuine welcome than he would have expected. “Welcome to the Emerald Pack, Mr. Metcalf,” he said, taking Charles’ hand. He stared at the other shifter in the same curious way Jaspar had at the summit. “I hope your trip was pleasant.”

“Very. And please, call me Charles,” he said, shaking Jaspar’s hand once again. “I’d like to thank you both for your hospitality, and on such short notice.”

“I can’t say I was expecting the CEO of Futurus to call and ask me for sanctuary,” Jaspar admitted. “After seeing what happened at the summit, I hope that it’s not a matter of immediate danger.”

“No, nothing like that,” said Charles. “I’m sorry. It’s a bit complicated to explain.”

“Have a seat,” Tyr urged, pulling out another chair at the table. Once they were all seated, he gestured to a bottle on the table and asked, “Would you like a drink?”

Charles hesitated, but before he could refuse, Tyr added, “It’s non-alcoholic.”

“How did you—?”

The omega smiled knowingly. “They don’t call me the verum omega for nothing, you know. Between my work as a doctor and my natural gifts, I’ve gotten quite good at sensing energies and auras over the years. So has he.”

“I’m not quite as perceptive as you, love,” Jaspar said with a bemused smile.

“Well, no,” Tyr grinned. “But your first assessment was right on the money. I see it, too.”

“Pardon me, but…what exactly are you talking about?” Charles asked.

“Forgive us,” said Tyr. “We both get ahead of ourselves. You are pregnant, aren’t you?”

Charles swallowed hard. He was expecting to have them laugh in his face when he explained his reason for seeking sanctuary, not to predict it. “Yes,” he said, touching his stomach. “But how could you possibly know that?”

“Extrasensory perception. I assume it’s something your team has studied,” said Tyr, filling his glass.

“Futurus has always been more focused on topics that are easier to study scientifically,” he admitted.

Jaspar gave his mate a knowing look. “He and your cousin Nathan would get along.”

“They would, wouldn’t they?” Tyr mused. “I think you’ll find that our way of doing things here is more favorable toward a blend of the esoteric and scientific. I’m an allopathic physician, of course, but I use my abilities as an omega to heal my patients as well.”

“Yes,” Charles murmured. “So I’ve heard. It would be wonderful if we could replicate that kind of thing in all trained medical professionals.”

Jaspar and Tyr exchanged a look.

“When my mate told me about your first meeting, I was intrigued,” said Tyr. “From the way he described your aura, it sounded like a few cases I’ve come across recently in my practice.”

“Let me guess. Other presumed Alphas who’ve gotten pregnant?”

“Many of them, yes,” answered Tyr. “Of course, it’s an incredibly rare phenomenon, but becoming less so in recent years. I’ve tried to study it, in order to help these patients through their pregnancies more effectively. Seeing you in person, I have no doubt that Jaspar was right. You are a sigma.”

“Sigma?” Charles echoed.

“It’s the name we’ve given to the fourth class of wolves who’ve emerged with a mixture of the defining traits of both Alpha and omega,” Tyr explained. “There are so many individual variations and the prevalence is so rare that it’s difficult for medical professionals to detect the pattern. Most are simply misdiagnosed as omegas who possess certain Alpha characteristics, or vice versa.”

Charles stared at Tyr in confusion. “You mean it goes the other way?”

The omega chuckled. “Quite. In fact, sigma wolves tend to be drawn only to one another, and many don’t realize how different they are until they’re mated. About half of you can’t shift, even when you’ve found your destined mates. It’s a small sample size, so it’s hard to say for sure, but I believe the prevalence of a destined mate bond to be much higher among them than the general population.”

“And you haven’t announced these findings to the scientific community?” Charles asked.

Tyr smiled, shaking his head. “No offense, Charles, but your community has a way of taking things that are unique and beautiful and trying to force them under a microscope. I’ve seen your company’s reports, and how you discuss the betas who can become pregnant by Alphas as… how was it put? Potential resources for furthering the goals of the Initiative?”

Charles’ face grew hot as his own words were read back to him. “The way we discuss things in lab reports is different. As a doctor and researcher, I’m sure you understand that.”

“As a scientist, I do,” Tyr admitted. “But as the verum omega, I have a calling to protect the dignity of all shifters under my care. Especially those who are poorly understood and vulnerable to exploitation.” His gaze softened. “That includes you, Charles.”

“Me?”

“Sigma wolves are rare, and we still don’t understand enough about them. Where they come from, what they need to thrive, what role they have to play in our world,” said Jaspar. “Before they are outed to the public, we need to make sure we have resources available to give them the support they need. Until now, there have been no cases of the sigma strain among someone so prominent.”

Charles sighed. “Why do I feel like I walked into a trap I set myself?”

Jaspar gave him a patient smile. “You are not trapped, Charles, but I think you came here for a reason. At first, I had considered trying to bring you back myself, but Tyr convinced me that if you are anything like the others, your instincts would lead you to exactly the place you needed to be.”

“Here?” he asked doubtfully.

“You’re not safe in Federation lands, Charles. And believe it or not, my family is far from your biggest opposition,” he said gravely. “There are as many people within Futurus who are unhappy with the direction you’ve taken the company as there are outside of it.”

“Everybody is a critic,” Charles muttered.

“Myself included, no doubt,” said Jaspar. “But after conducting an investigation on your facilities and seeing your research… the pieces of this puzzle are beginning to slip into place.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have a brilliant mind, and you are meant to contribute far more to this world than running a company that commoditizes love and family,” Tyr said, holding his gaze. “The child you are carrying is also very special. These children, born of two sigmas, are the first of a new generation. This entire time, we’ve been focused on creating new life through Alphas and betas and omegas, but maybe the Spirits are trying to tell us that there’s a better way. That the rules and traits that have bound us for centuries and led to us abusing our own kind no longer have to determine how we live our individual lives.”

“You think sigmas are going to replace the others?” Charles asked, struggling to understand.

“We don’t know what the future holds, only that your kind plays a special role in it,” said Jaspar.

“And you know this how?”

Jaspar looked to his mate, and Tyr smiled sadly. “My father told me. In a dream.”

Charles stared at him. “I’m sorry. I know that my existence is not exactly logical, but—“

“I know how it sounds,” said Tyr. “But he’s never led me astray.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” said Charles. “I didn’t know him, but he was a good man.”

“He was.” Tyr’s smile was strained with grief, but the omega quickly overcame it. “Now that you are here, we can protect you. If you’ll let us.”

Charles hesitated. He was nowhere near as prideful as a regular Alpha, and now he knew why, but he still felt ashamed for having nowhere else he felt safe to turn. It wasn’t that he lacked resources, but there was only one place in the Federation territory where he felt like his baby would be safe, but his heart wasn’t safe there at all. “Thank you,” he said hoarsely. “I owe you both a great debt.”

“It’s our pleasure,” said Jaspar. “But I’m afraid I do have to ask… who is the baby’s other father?”

Charles swallowed hard. “It’s Myron Myer.”

“Your spokesman?” Tyr cried in surprise.

“An ill-advised indiscretion, I’m well aware,” Charles mumbled.

Jaspar and Tyr were both giving him pitying looks. “Does he know?” Tyr asked softly.

“No. And he doesn’t know about sigmas, of course. But it makes sense that he’s something different. His wolf form is… unusual.”

“He thinks he’s an omega?” asked Tyr.

“Yes. We only recently realized I wasn’t an Alpha.”

The couple exchanged another worried look.

“I don’t mean to pry,” said Jaspar, “but is there a reason you haven’t told him you’re pregnant?”

Charles’ throat tightened. He wanted to answer, but he was exhausted and there was a sob welling in his throat.

“It’s alright,” said Tyr, standing to embrace him. Normally, Charles wasn’t one for unsolicited physical contact, but the calming wave of energy that passed from the omega to him soothed the pain deep in his soul. It also made it impossible to hold in the grief any longer. “It’s going to be alright.”

“He still loves someone else,” Charles whispered. “He said he wants to take time to figure things out. If I tell him about this baby and he chooses me, I’m always going to wonder if it’s just because he feels trapped.”

“I’m so sorry,” Tyr murmured. “I don’t have an easy answer for you. But you at least need to tell him where you are. That you’re safe.”

Charles nodded reluctantly. He checked his phone and even though it was still early in the morning back in Southbend, he saw that there were already several missed calls from the omega.

Or rather, the sigma, if the couple was right. Not that it mattered what they were, or that they were meant for each other. Myron didn’t know it, so it meant nothing.

“I’ll show you to your room,” Tyr offered, taking his arm to help him stand. “You can call from there.”

“Thank you,” Charles said, looking back at Jaspar. “I don’t know how to repay your kindness, and I can’t say that I believe there’s any special plan for my life, but I’ll try to help with your research however I can.”

Jaspar gave him a warm smile. “We’re the verum pair, Charles. It’s our duty, and our privilege.”